A New Season of Ministry

For everything there is a season.…Ecclesiastes 3:1

New Ministry Challenges

The USA is changing fast. The Twin Cities in Minnesota is a good illustration of this. There are a now a million first and second generation immigrants living in the Twin Cities, the author of this article being one of them. One in three people now living in the Twin Cities metro is an immigrant, and this is just the start. By 2045 there will be no longer a majority culture in the USA because everyone – including Caucasians — will be a minority.

90% of immigrants don’t know Christ. Sadly, 80% of churches in the USA have stagnated or are in decline and cannot keep up with population growth. This leaves a vacuum that pagan religions are filling rapidly.  While secular atheism is fading, Wicca, witchcraft and the occult are taking off in the Twin Cities. Other religions (Buddhism, Hinduism – you name it) are growing fast. Current projections show that by 2070, Islam will bypass Christianity as the major religion of the world.

The need for partnership

The Twin Cities presents a chaotic spiritual milieu. Village Schools of the Bible is rising to the challenge. We are forming a partnership with other churches and ministries who see that unless we join hands and partner together to sow the gospel far and wide in our culture, we may lose this spiritual battle. Here are key ministries and movement leaders with whom we are partnering:

1. Merge. Kenyan-born evangelist Dr. Sammy Wanyonyi leads a global evangelism ministry. Sammy has a gift and passion for merging churches together for the sake of gospel outreach. Here in the Twin Cities he is leading a long-term strategy to help plant churches and reach immigrants with the gospel.
2. City Vision. No-one knows the Twin Cities better than researcher Dr. John Mayer, whose  City Vision Report shows the demographic shifts that are changing the Twin Cities. Traditional church planters and micro church planters alike benefit enormously from the data John provides. Take one of Dr. Mayer’s City Vision tours to see for yourself the sea change taking place in our cities.
3. Westwood Community Church. In conjunction with Dr. Sammy Wanyonyi and with the help of Dr. John Mayer, Pastor Joel Johnson has a vision to plant 1,000 churches in the Twin Cities and beyond. One church plant is Westwood Community church in Bloomington MN which opened last Thanksgiving, with a congregation of around 325 people and growing. This is the kind of bold vision needed to redeem our culture.

Village Schools of the Bible is fully supportive of these ministries, and we are thrilled by their strategic embrace of our mission: Teaching God’s Word and Transforming Lives. Shoulder to shoulder, we can achieve so much more for the Kingdom of Christ!

Key initiatives

Village Schools is passionate about discipling the nations per the Great Commission that Jesus gave His church (Matthew 28:18-20). Below are just three key initiatives currently under way:

1. Cover-to Cover for the Hmong. A Cover-to-Cover Bible survey class for Hmong immigrants is scheduled to start this fall. This class will be taught by a Hmong Bible teacher who also has in view the potential, at a later stage, to reach the Hmong in Asia through the online version of the Cover-to-Cover class. This is the template for the way we reach other immigrant communities – we are actively seeking gifted Bible teachers from immigrant communities who find great joy in teaching Cover-to-Cover to their communities locally and abroad.
2. VSB Liberia. Alaric is a Liberian graduate from our online Cover-to-Cover course. Alaric has said that God has profoundly changed him through Cover-to-Cover, and he is now actively working to bring the Cover-to-Cover class to his people in Liberia. He has already recruited a candidate pool of students from Liberia who will take the Cover-to-Cover class in Monrovia starting this fall. This is another example of how Village Schools seeks to equip, empower and release disciple-makers for God’s mission.
3. VSB South Africa. We are currently working with our African regional leader to bring Cover-to-Cover to South Africa, potentially under the teaching of a pastor who is fluent in four African languages, and a graduate of the very well-regarded South African Theological Seminary.

Opportunities to partner

This is a challenging time to be in ministry given the rapid changes happening in our culture locally and in the world. However, it is clear that God has placed before us enormous opportunities. Our generation must step up to the plate, and we as Village Schools of the Bible, are very excited about joining hands with other ministries to spread the Gospel and help disciple God’s people.

However, we can’t do this alone. We need your help. Would you pray for us and help us financially? We need to raise $110,000 to bring these new initiatives to fruition.

Gracious Father, you are committed to redeeming your family from all languages and nations, and you make all things new through the work of your Son. Lord Jesus, in the light of what you’ve accomplished through the Cross on our behalf, how can we not be moved to pray with great hope for our cities and nations? We need revival, Jesus. Holy Spirit, stir us up for your mission. Grip us by your truth. We long for contagious Gospel renewal, and for your transforming presence in our churches, communities and cities. We long to see the found and the lost, the unrighteous and the self-righteous come together to hear, believe and live the Gospel. Magnify your name in our midst and in this momentous hour. We pray these things in your majestic and loving name, Amen.

Call to action

If you would like to know more about our mission and strategy, please let us know. We’d love to talk with you. And if you would like to invest financially in our Great Commission goals, please click here to make a gift.

This article was written by Warwick Alcock, Director of Strategic Operations, Village Schools of the Bible.